The Shadow of Chaos
by DisjointWinter
Summary: When innocent people begin disappearing from Station Square, Shadow is caught up in a mystery which may take his life... or corrupt him into his worst nightmare. A collaboration between Mystery002 and S.T. Hedgehog.
1. Impossible Darkness

**The Shadow of Chaos**

**Chapter 1: Impossible Darkness**

Midnight. A time when the sky is its darkest, and most people in Station Square are asleep in their beds, in their homes, under the assumption that they are safe. Tonight, they were wide awake and frightened out of their minds, unable to find rest but equally unwilling to venture the dangerous streets. No one was out after sunset anymore, no one but either the very brave or the very foolish anyways.

The streets were dimly lit by a few streetlights scattered across the pavement, creating seas of darkness interrupted by much smaller islands of dim illumination.

A lone figure walked down this street, a light breeze wafting through his quills. The empty blackness nearly consumed his features, but from what was visible, it was easy to see that he was as black as the night around him, and that there were crimson streaks tearing up his quills. Draped over his shoulders was a leather jacket, and hugging at his hips were a pair of pants whose color matched his own.

Bouncing silently down the other side of the street was a female jogger. Shadow looked at her, finding it somewhat strange that she was jogging at this time, considering all of the disappearances that had been happening lately. Just last week, a couple of teenagers were out vandalizing a school, when they simply vanished, leaving only their bottles of spray paint behind to signify that they'd ever been there at all.

The jogger ran into one of the dark pockets, disappearing from visibility. Shadow held his breath waiting for her to emerge from the other side, but to his surprise, there was complete and utter stillness.

A beat passed.

A dark form dashed out of the void, with the woman, seemingly knocked out, over its shoulder.

Shadow began to chase after it, but when he tried to activate his Air Shoes, with a curse he remembered that they had been damaged in his last GUN mission.

_Flashback_

_Shadow rolled to dodge an incoming laser beam, as several others narrowly missed him. He summoned a crackling orb of golden energy into his hand, loosing it on one of the automated turrets that were attacking him with deadly accuracy._

_His target exploded in a flash of light, and fell to the earth as a smoldering heap of shrapnel. He had little time to revel in this minor victory, as the next moment another of the beams flew directly towards him._

_He jumped into the air in time to avoid being fried, but the laser struck first one, and then two of his rocket propelled shoes, causing him to curse in anger._

_End Flashback_

'_It seems as though I'll have to pursue it without them!' _he snarled inwardly as he increased his pace.

The shadowy figure began to climb up the side of a building. Thinking fast, Shadow ran between the two buildings, in order to get to the top. Jumping against the side of one, he propelled himself off and up, spinning in mid-air to contact the adjacent building with his feet. Quickly repeating the process, he scaled the wall and leapt onto the rooftop in time to see the figure attempting to make its escape.

He began to chase after it, running at top speed across the roofs, and leaping from building to building. He began to gain on the humanoid creature, who had noticed him pursuing and increased its speed. Deftly sidestepping any obstacle that entered his path, Shadow growled in anger as he came closer and closer to his prey.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to attack it with a Chaos Spear, because with the woman draped over its shoulder, it was possible that he would unintentionally hit her, and she could end up dead. With a smirk, he remembered how much easier it was to be the villain, when the lives of innocents was not a problem.

The beast he pursued showed no signs of stopping, and gradually chose more and more difficult terrain, widening the gaps Shadow was forced to leap over, and elevating the chase until they were nearly up in the clouds.

Abruptly, the creature veered off its course, leaping onto a particularly tall building, and clambering up the wall in an instant. Shadow screeched to a stop, staring up at the imposing shadow of the figure's chosen escape.

He leapt forward, fist thrust out, and crashed through a window, throwing shards of glass in every direction. But the ultimate lifeform paid the dagger-like pieces no mind, not even wasting a moment as he rushed for the staircase.

In mere seconds he was atop the building, prepared to face anything. But when he came out into the air, he didn't see the monstrous figure he'd been following, or the woman it had kidnapped. But there was someone there, hiding in the darkness.

"Shadow... you've finally made it," an icy voice rang forth from the darkness, deep and ominous.

"Show yourself!" the obsidian hedgehog snapped, spinning about to try to locate the source of the voice.

"I'm right here," the malicious presence mocked, as it stepped forth from the night.

The voice's owner was, or at least, appeared to be a hedgehog, who looked vaguely like himself. It's quills were arranged in the same fashion as his, even having stripes on them, however, this phantom hedgehog had different colors than the ultimate one, the main portion of his fur was a very dark, charcoal shade of grey and his stripes were a pale, sickly blue.

The bits of flesh that could be seen on this phantom, in his ears and jaw area, were a much lighter shade of grey then his fur, and although the menacing being was the origin of the voice Shadow had heard, it had no mouth.

"I don't have time to play around with another faker. I need to know where that creature went," Shadow questioned, as he looked the demon over. The demon stared back at him with haunting emerald eyes that never blinked, and floated slightly into the air, a black mist around his feet.

"I'm afraid that I have no idea what you're talking about," he said with a tone that could not be more clear in the fact that he knew precisely what Shadow was referring to. The obsidian hedgehog growled in anger.

"Who do you think you are? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Shadow yelled, while glaring at the phantom.

"I think I am Mephiles… Mephiles the Dark. And of course, Shadow..." Mephiles paused as he stretched out his arms to his sides, crossed them over his chest, and quickly stretched them out again. This seemed to cause a change his appearance.

The main part of his fur was now purple, his stripes were now a much brighter blue and were no longer straight, but now had a design to them.

The phantom's quills now seemed to split at the end and the tips were violet. His eyes were now neon green surrounded by cracked crimson irises. His body had taken on the appearance of being made of crystals and his feet now ended in sharp points.

"...I know everything about you," he explained, the ring of hostility still not gone from his voice.

"I don't see how that's possible," Shadow replied, as Mephiles began to circle him. Raising one hand into the air, the crystalline mocker hissed slightly, as if offended.

"Our destinies are intertwined from beginning to end. I've known you since before you were even created."

This revelation echoed on the winds like the tolling of an iron bell, as Shadow's eyes widened. Instant resentment and disbelief flooded over him, as he realized what this meant.

"I don't know you," he insisted.

Mephiles released a small, cynical laugh. "As I seem to recall, you're a rather forgetful person," the phantom hedgehog scoffed.

"I regained all of my memories after I destroyed the Black Comet." Shadow stared at the monstrous mimicry of himself, wondering exactly who he was, and what he wanted.

"Have you considered the possibility that you've lost some more since then?" There was a long silence, as Shadow thought over this suggestion.

"I don't know. And I don't care. But what I do know is that you will stay out of my way, or I will destroy you," the ultimate lifeform answered with a frown of determination.

"Any attempt you made would serve only as entertainment," the dark one cackled. Shadow's rage overflowed, as he felt the urge to attack growing.

Giving in to his animalistic fury, he formed a brilliantly shining Chaos Spear in his palm, and hurled it at the offender.

A split second before it struck, Mephiles sank into the ground, vanishing in a moment. Shadow glanced around in disorientation, looking for his enemy. The demon reappeared behind him, slamming a fist into the back of his head.

Shadow fell forward, knocked to the ground by the force of the blow. Snarling in anger, he whirled around, another energy attack created at a moments notice. This one flew forward and collided with Mephiles, burning a gaping hole in his stomach.

The dark phantom stared down at his wound, and then began to disintegrate, as if he were made of dust. The wind caught what remained of him, bringing it closer to Shadow.

'_Not dust... more like a... liquid!_' Shadow realized just as the wind changed directions, bringing the dark matter a mere hair's breadth away from him. He didn't have time to move or even gasp before the remains of the demon were spilled onto him, seeping into his skin.

White hot fire crawled over his nerves as it contacted him, and it felt as if he were being stung by a million hornets at once. The pain was too much to bear, and he fell to the ground, convulsing in agony. His vision blackened, and as the pain began to mount, he fainted on the rooftop, his eyelids sliding shut of their own accord.

And as he lay there helpless, the black, liquid fire continued to spread over, and into, his body.


	2. The Mystery Unfolds

**Chapter 2- The Mystery Unfolds**

With a groan Shadow sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his weary eyes. Glancing around him, he saw that he was sitting on the rooftop of a building, where he had apparently passed out the night before. Remembering his encounter with the being called Mephiles and the outcome it had, he looked down at himself cautiously.

He didn't look like he was covered in black sludge. The sensation granted him by the burning obsidian fire flung unto him in the aftermath of the demon's destruction was still easily fresh in his mind, but nevertheless, he looked as if he were untouched from their encounter.

He didn't even feel a bruise or a scratch on his entire body. It was as if he'd never fought the phantom at all... in fact, he felt better than just okay... he felt strangely alive, as if he could take on the whole world. Where this new bravado came from, he wasn't sure, but at the moment, it didn't really matter.

'_Hmph, so the fake hedgehog wasn't so tough after all,' _he quietly mused, as he rose to his feet and stared out at the surrounding city. Several floors below him, some workers were cleaning up the glass he'd shattered when he leapt through the window in pursuit of the creature who'd abducted the jogger.

Thinking perhaps it would be better if they didn't know he was responsible for the damages, he decided that it was high time to continue his hunt. He had been investigating the disappearances occurring lately, at the request of G.U.N. He'd made some discoveries and found some leads, but none had been so promising as the capture of one of the criminals.

Of course, the criminal he'd seen last night wasn't quite what he'd expected. The educated guess he'd made about the nature of the attacks had been brought into question... by the shape of the fiendish creature.

It seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it before, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. Whatever it was, it was not what he'd thought...

_Flashback_

_The dark hedgehog followed behind the cloaked individual, making sure to stay hidden so as not to reveal himself. The figure stole around an alleyway, ducking into the shadowy hideaway it provided. Shadow carefully followed afterwards, his burning crimson eyes flicking about to detect any possible dangers._

_Of course, one thug would be no match for him, but his mission was not to take out one thug. The administrators at G.U.N. were under the impression that the disappearances had been orchestrated by a single huge organization, and asked him to investigate and see if there was any validity to their presumptions._

_So far, there'd been little clues, and even less progress since he wasn't allowed to do what he did best... fight. But nonetheless, he was supposed to keep a watchful eye out for their activity._

_The man he'd been following was carrying a bag too big for his comfort, one that was just large enough to carry a human being, and sagged with an apparent weight. This discomforting observation was more than enough to warrant the obsidian hedgehog following the mysterious individual, though now he'd lost the trail._

_Standing alone in the alley, Shadow cursed under his breath. There were no doorways back here, and if the person had ran, he would've heard their steps become louder. Surely one man could not have scaled walls and climbed to the top of the buildings?_

_There was, however, a slate grey car sitting at the back end of the alley, facing against a brick wall. Although he wondered why the criminal would attempt to hide there, rationalizing that there was no other possibility, Shadow approached the vehicle._

_Drawing up against the tinted windows, he peered inside to see the interior of the vehicle completely empty, no body, no bag, no perpetrator. The ultimate lifeform's ruby eyes darted underneath the car, but discovered nothing there as well._

_Grunting in anger, Shadow took a moment to think, as he looked the car over. His eyes came to rest on the trunk of the vehicle, which looked more than large enough to contain a person. More like several people._

'_It can't be...' he rationalized. Realizing that the trunk was locked, Shadow sighed, as he clenched his fist tightly. Slamming it into the window, he was rewarded with the shatter of the glass, which fell in disarray onto the driver's seat._

_Popping the lock up, Shadow opened the door, and found the lever that unlocked the trunk. Hurriedly he came to the back of the car, his fingers prying at the crevice between the hatch and the bumper. Slowly, the trunk opened, a high pitched squeaking noise clearly announcing to the world that the owner needed to oil its joints._

_The dark hedgehog stared inside in disbelief, his eyes widening slightly. There, within the unlit expanse of the trunk, was the bag the fugitive had been carrying... But the man himself was nowhere to be found. Paying this no attention at the moment, Shadow hefted the large bag out of the car, his arms immediately agreeing with his original judgment of the bag's weight._

_Unzipping the package, he was not surprised at what he found, as he had expected it from the moment he set eyes on the bag. Within the ebony sack lay a man, a large bump on his forehead, and his eyes closed, a light groan escaped his lips. He was obviously unconscious, but still alive._

_Removing him from the unceremonious position he'd been in, Shadow set him down behind the car, hoping that perhaps when he awoke, the man could identify his attacker. Realizing with a start that there may have been some kind of identification information in the glove box, the ultimate one walked over to the car a second time._

_This time opening the passenger door, he clicked open the compartment above the seat, to reveal an assortment of papers, and a handgun. Eyeing the pistol suspiciously, he began to look through the papers._

_Setting aside repair bills, receipts, and parking stubs, he finally came across a paper labeled as the car's Title Deed. Knowing that he could use this to determine the owner, the hedgehog quickly examined it._

_Apparently, the car at least belonged to a man named Vincent Gaspero, although it was possible that the fugitive simply stowed the body in Vincent's car, and made his getaway. However, the lock showed no signs of being tampered with in the slightest, and Shadow knew that the man he was chasing didn't have enough time to do anything too fancy._

_As he came back, he slung the unconscious victim over his shoulder and began to head towards the local police department._

_End Flashback_

It had later been discovered that Vincent was a prominent member of a local mob, and was wanted for numerous crimes, including kidnapping and grand theft. The authorities had commended Shadow, remarking that his recovery of the documents in Gaspero's glove box would prove instrumental in his capture. They went on to talk about other things he wasn't particularly interested in.

After that incident, it had been his and the police's opinion that the crime wave was the responsibility of whatever gang Gaspero was involved with, and that it would only be a matter of tracking down their contacts and discovering their operation.

However, as time passed, he was becoming less sure of this.

_Flashback_

_The shadowy figure began to climb up the side of a building. Thinking fast, Shadow ran between the two buildings, in order to get to the top. Jumping against the side of one, he propelled himself off and up, spinning in mid-air to contact the adjacent building with his feet. Quickly repeating the process, he scaled the wall and leapt onto the rooftop in time to see the figure attempting to make its escape._

_He began to chase after it, running at top speed across the roofs, and leaping from building to building. He began to gain on the humanoid creature, who had noticed him pursuing and increased its speed. Deftly sidestepping any obstacle that entered his path, Shadow growled in anger as he came closer and closer to his prey._

_Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to attack it with a Chaos Spear, because with the woman draped over its shoulder, it was possible that he would unintentionally hit her, and she could end up dead. With a smirk, he remembered how much easier it was to be the villain, when the lives of innocents was not a problem._

_The beast he pursued showed no signs of stopping, and gradually chose more and more difficult terrain, widening the gaps Shadow was forced to leap over, and elevating the chase until they were nearly up in the clouds._

_Abruptly, the creature veered off its course, leaping onto a particularly tall building, and clambering up the wall in an instant. Shadow screeched to a stop, staring up at the imposing shadow of the figure's chosen escape..._

_-_

_The voice's owner was, or at least, appeared to be a hedgehog, who looked vaguely like himself. It's quills were arranged in the same fashion as his, even having stripes on them, however, this phantom hedgehog had different colors than the ultimate one, the main portion of his fur was a very dark, charcoal shade of grey and his stripes were a pale, sickly blue._

_The bits of flesh that could be seen on this phantom, in his ears and jaw area, were a much lighter shade of grey then his fur, and although the menacing being was the origin of the voice Shadow had heard, it had no mouth._

_End Flashback_

Could a man really scale a wall in an instant, or dash across rooftops at great enough speed and ease to keep even him from catching it? After all, the assailant he'd chased last night had escaped, no easy task with him pursuing it. It had climbed up a skyscraper.

Even if this was mere coincidence, the appearance of the mysterious figure at the top calling himself Mephiles instilled some doubts in his mind. What could the creature's presence signify? And what had happened to this figure he'd been chasing?

Shadow got the eerie feeling that it had definitely not been a human... but it was too tall to be a Mobian... in fact taller than the average person. The thing had been at least seven feet tall. With a huff, Shadow began walking down the stairs that lead out of the building.

It didn't matter. Whatever the cause of the disappearances, he would discover them and take care of it once and for all. And regardless of his meeting the night before with the phantom atop the skyscraper, he would follow his previous leads to see what truth they did hold.

If there really were some greater mystery behind these occurrences unexplainable by mere gang activity, he would surely know once he'd tracked down the gangsters themselves.

With a smirk, Shadow stepped out of the doorway of the glass spire. Looking up at the workers repairing the windows, he let a grim chuckle escape from his twisted lips.

Shadow rummaged through the inner pockets of his jacket and took out a small, black metal box with a red button on it. He pressed the button and threw the box towards the street. While in the air, the box opened and expanded. When it hit the ground, the box had become a black and red motorcycle.

Taking a seat on the motorcycle, a thought passed through the ultimate's mind.

'_Perhaps it is time to pay a visit to Vincent Gaspero.'_

Tightening his fists around the handlebars, Shadow smirked one final time before he sped off into the city, becoming a mere blur amidst the passing cars and pedestrians.


	3. Shadow's Fall

**Chapter 3: Shadow's Fall**

The world flashed by as nothing more than a multi-colored blur to the dark hedgehog atop his motorcycle. The blistering, chilling wind forced his ears against his head and pounded at his face and eyes again and again. He merely frowned impassively, didn't even take notice, as more important matters were on his mind.

The events of the previous night were still fresh in Shadow's mind. Things just didn't add up: if Vincent Gaspero was behind this, why? How could random kidnappings be beneficial to a criminal empire? After all, none of the victims had been held for ransom, or even seen again - save that one he'd managed to save. Even if it were true, how could one of his thugs just climb up the side of a smooth, mostly glass building like it was nothing, or run across rooftops at speeds to rival him?

It could be possible that Gaspero was using the kidnapped people as test subjects for genetic research or something to enhance their capabilities... That might have been able to explain the how his thugs could get away so easily, never caught in the act. However the question still remained of how Mephiles fit into all of this.

Shadow shook the thoughts of the demon from his mind. '_No need worrying about a dead fake_.' His thoughts drifted, and the dark hedgehog smirked, thinking of the first fake he had to deal with.

As if summoned by Shadow's thoughts, a lightning fast blur of cerulean color rushed past the ebony one, followed by an even more powerful gust of wind. Shadow eyed the blur as it passed, hoping it hadn't see him.

Luck didn't seem to be on the obsidian hedgehog's side...

The blur positioned itself in front of Shadow's motorcycle, turning around and running backwards for the dual purposes of showing off and facing his irritated companion.

This blur was a blue hedgehog with grassy green eyes wearing a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt over a long-sleeved yellow shirt, blue jeans with a black belt, white gloves, a silver bracelet adorned with a green pearl, and red Soap shoes, which couldn't be made out very well, due to the hedgehog's feet moving so fast that he seemed to have several feet. His arms were crossed over his chest, an ever present cocky smirk on his face.

A toothy grin appeared on the blue hedgehog's face before he said, in a far too cheerful voice, "What's up Shadow?!"

Shadow glared at him hoping that perhaps he could simply stare down the speed demon and he would take a hint and go away. After several moments of Sonic merely waiting for him to reply, he realized he'd overestimated his rivals intelligence, as a frown of frustration appeared on his face. He then muttered, in a very irritated voice, "Not you again."

"Nice to see you too," the blue one replied sarcastically, his grin not affected in the slightest by the ultimate lifeform's snide reply.

"Shouldn't you be watching where your going, moron?"

The blue blur shrugged. "I don't think you want to crash your cycle."

"What do you want, Sonic?"

"I was in the neighborhood, and I figured I'd check in and see how everyone's favorite emo is doing."

"You really want me to kill you, don't you?" Shadow growled, as he inched slightly closer to Sonic, accelerating as if intending to run him over.

Sonic threw his arms up defensively as his eyes widened slightly, before crossing them over his chest once more. "No need to be so hostile!"

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "There is when you're around! Now, before I lose my temper, what the fuck do you want!"

Sonic's grin disappeared and his eyes narrowed as well. "That was before you lost your temper?" Shadow growled and Sonic sighed in defeat. "Look, we can't fight each other right now, the whole city is in a bit of a panic right now, after all."

Shadow smirked. "Yeah, poor humans... oh, how I wish," the dark hedgehog chuckled grimly. "I cared."

Sonic scoffed. "Isn't it your job to care? Mister big-shot G.U.N. agent?"

With a small, dark laugh, Shadow answered, "I'm supposed to find the ones responsible for the disappearances and..." the ebony one closed his eyes and a twisted smile appeared on his face. "... gut 'em. Sentimentality isn't part of my job description... but I'm great at the killing part."

Sonic's eyelids formed a straight line covering half of his eyes. "Yeah, good, glad to see you haven't lost your mind or anything!"

Shadow's eyes snapped open and crimson met emerald as the two looked each other in the eye. The two stared at the other for a few tense moments, before Sonic's brow arced in confusion. He paused a moment, as Shadow noticed the suddenly disappearing hostility in his gaze. "Hey Shads, what's with your eyes?"

The ebony hedgehog's brow furrowed at this, seemingly random statement. "What are you talking about, moron?"

Sonic pointed at one of the mirrors on Shadow's handlebar, his expression of surprise still not gone. "See for yourself."

Shadow glanced away from the road, adjusted the mirror so he could see his eyes. At first, he could see no difference from normal. But as he inspected more carefully, he discovered that the world famous hero was right, there was something strange about his eyes.

It was extremely subtle, barely noticeable, but the color of his eyes had dulled, as if someone had mixed in the slightest bit of red's compliment, green. Also, his pupils were a bit taller then they were suppose to be.

Shadow face held little of the confusion he felt. "I... I don't know..."

Sonic's eyes narrowed slightly, although, not in anger at Shadow. Surely, the sudden change in his friend's appearance could not be nothing, there had to be some sort of explanation.

But before he had the time to consider this too much longer, his thoughts were interrupted by a faintly familiar sound. One that brought back nostalgic memories from years past, a sound that had been forever imprinted in his mind.

The laugh of his arch-nemesis, a mechanical genius, Dr. Eggman.

Shadow noticed the echoing sound as well, and both of them screeched to a stop without a word to glance around for the source of the emanating chuckle. From behind a nearby building rose a great metal platform, blocking out a portion of the sky with its immense size.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, Sonic stared up at the machine to spy the deranged doctor standing at the controls, an unusually confident smirk on his sophisticated features.

Lowering his craft slightly, Eggman floated just above Sonic and Shadow, staring down at them with a slight sneer on his face, as if he'd prepared something special - just for them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Egghead himself, come to make trouble," Sonic spat, his arms crossed as he locked eyes with the nefarious doctor.

Eggman rendered a mock, wounded facial expression. "Why Sonic, what ever would give you that idea?"

"Uh... maybe it's that you showed up in the giant metal thingy with the evil laugh?" the blue hero replied sarcastically.

Eggman began to stroke his mustache, as if contemplating something. He seemed to come to a decision that pleased him greatly, and his former grin returned. "Ah yes, you refer to the products of my genius. Perhaps you'd like to sample it's true power?"

Sonic looked as if he was about to fire off a cocky challenge, but Shadow shot him a death glare that silenced him. "Doctor, I have no time to deal with you."

Eggman stared down at Shadow indignantly, anger forming a deep crease in his forehead. "How dare you! After my grandfather created you, the least you could do is give me some respect!"

A dangerous snarl made its way onto the ultimate lifeform's face, his teeth clenched. "I said it once. I'll only say it one more time. I have more important things to do than toy with you."

Sonic smirked slightly at his comrade's anger, knowing full well that despite the words he was uttering, the confrontational tone of his voice told that a fight between the dark hedgehog and the genius scientist was already inevitable.

Eggman re-adjusted his glasses, as if he had all the time in the world, revealing his shining blue eyes for but a split-second. Then, he stared down at Shadow, an icy scowl on his lips. "It seems you have no other choice, Shadow."

Shadow muttered curses under his breath, as he realized there was no way Eggman was simply going to let him continue with his business. Worse than that, after he finished with the doctor, Sonic would probably insist on coming along to investigate the Crime Ring.

Dismounting his motorcycle, pressing a button on the handle bars, returning it to its box form and placing it back in his inner jacket poket, the ultimate lifeform cracked his knuckles one by one, annoyance clear on his face. "Alright doctor, you will pay for wasting my time."

Eggman scoffed, as he ceremoniously pressed a button on the control console of the Egg-o-matic. The machine's arms extended, shooting out to the side, and remaining perfectly still for a moment. A booming noise shook the ground, as small pebbles were thrown into the air.

Sonic and Shadow looked about in surprise, watching for the source of the tremendous noise.

From out of one of the buildings in front of them burst a massive robot, debris clinging to its metallic form. It's top was devoid of a cockpit, meaning that it must have been on remote control, and it was easily a hundred feet tall. Maybe more.

The hedgehog's couldn't help but gawk as the massive body came and stood under Eggman's floating platform, stopping perfectly underneath it. The levitating metal lift lowered down onto the robotic body, the arms securing it by clasping several hooks.

A protective metal dome closed over the cockpit, as the arms on the cockpit retreated to the inside of the machine. The next second, they returned, only this time, a gigantic spiky orb was at the end of one of them, slightly resembling a mace.

Shadow's eyes were wide with recognition.

"Boys, meet the Egg Breaker mk. 2, my most powerful robot yet."

Shadow smirked dangerously, as a blinding golden light gathered in his palm. Sonic was taken aback by the appearance of the powerful orb, as Eggman pointed the spiked ball on the machines hand towards them.

The giant metal orb, bristling with huge spikes, came down upon the two hedgehogs like a flash, tearing up chunks of pavement as it ground into the street where they'd stood moments ago.

The ultimate lifeform unleashed the attack he'd prepared, hurling it at the robot with all his strength. The yellowish light burning into the metallic side of the hulking form, smoke rising up from the impact, but Eggman was undeterred.

Sonic leapt forward, spinning into the hull of the enormous machine with his trademark speed. The Egg Breaker swatted at him as if he were a pesky fly, but the cerulean hero managed to avoid the massive fist that was attempting to crush him.

Robotnik continued his assault, slamming the thorny orb downwards in an attempt to crush Shadow to a pulp. The obsidian and ruby hedgehog deftly slid out of harms way, leaping to his feet once he cleared the mace and coming at the Egg Breaker like a falling bomb.

Cradled within his palm was a frantically crackling orb of golden energy, a vicious Chaos Spear waiting to be used. Even from within the massive robot, Eggman's eyebrows elevated as Shadow slammed the attack into the side of the robot with all his might, sending shredded metal bursting forth like innards from a gutted animal.

The cerulean hedgehog's mouth hung open slightly, he'd never seen Shadow exhibit such power with a single Chaos Spear before. A deranged cackle split the air, and Shadow was given little time to celebrate his momentary victory, as he was roughly snatched up within the fist of the Egg Breaker's left hand, the one with the mace raising slowly into the air, preparing to crush him.

Sonic's emerald eyes widened, and he burst forward to save his ally. Eggman sneered with devilish intent, and launched a net at the supersonic hedgehog, which ensnared him and rendered him immobile.

"I've toyed around with you two for long enough. It is time for a new order to arise on this planet!" he boomed, as Shadow glared up at the cockpit of the robot, seemingly not worried that he was about to be turned to pulp by the robot's giant mace.

Violently screaming ebony sparks began to orbit around Shadow's body, soon completely covering him, enshrouding him with a covering that obscured his higlights completely. As if they were nothing but plastic forks to be bent and snapped, the ultimate lifeform roughly pried the fingers of the Egg Breaker from his body, snapping the joints of the fingers with pops that resembled the breaking of bones.

Free of the robots grasp, Shadow hurtled towards the ground, back-flipping in mid air until he was several feet away from the gargantuan robot, sparks still covering his entire form.

The ebony hedgehog stretched his arms out in front of him, fists tightly clenched, the sparking light gathering at the front of his body. Suddenly the dark hedgehog brought his arms back towards his body, which caused the sparks to burst off of him, falling away and dissipating into nothingness. He let his arms fall lazily to his sides, his head downcast, and his eyelids squeezed shut. The dark hedgehog now looked completely different.

His fur was now, for the most part, a dark shade of yellow, his stripes were black, the tips of his quills had become a sickly blue color, and the parts of his stripes that were the quill tips were a light violet.

A madly swirling obsidian Chaos Spear appeared in Shadow's left hand. One word escaped the dark one's lips, "Doctor..."

He quickly looked up at Eggman, his eyes snapped open to reveal they were now brightly shining crimson surrounded by deathly black irises.

"You're going straight to hell!"


	4. Quick Announcement 2

**Quick Announcement 2:**

Alright, everyone, time for some bad news; with how things are right now, I do not think I will be able to finish _The Shadow of Chaos _on my own and so, I am putting this story on hold, indefinitly. If anyone out there is, or knows of, a very good writer who would like to do a colba with me, let me know. Until then, this is it.

~DisjointWinter

P.S. When the next chapter comes out, I will replace this announcement with it. Any reviews for this chapter will remain, even if I delete this first, so do not review here until it has been posted.


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